Female Game Characters get Makeover from Concerned Group

Eating disorder support group Bulimia.com has re-imagined a variety of female video game characters in an effort to bring awareness to body image issues. The group claims that video games has gotten better and better over time, with developers being able to create more life-like worlds and characters. But video games too often perpetuate unrealistic body imagery, and this can be dangerous.

“If video game creators are going to pride themselves on accurate digital representations, then it’s time for them to get real about women,” Bulimia said.

“One could argue that the social pressures to obtain perfection are reinforced even through the depiction of video game characters,” the group added. “Girl gamers, especially young ones,could develop a skewed image of how the female body should look. This might mark the beginning of obsessive thoughts about their own bodies, and self-questioning as to why they don’t align with their perceived ideal. When dangerous, compulsive eating behaviors develop alongside of these negative obsessions, young women can quickly find themselves struggling with an eating disorder.”